The question upon each Beyonce release is: what will she do differently? 2016’s brilliant ‘Lemonade’ posited, with its varied feature list, that a ‘genre’ is simply where you choose to stand in the one-room party of music. The attitude of six years ago has run down to 2022 like a choppy river. ‘RENAISSANCE’ is expectedly mighty in ambition and spotless in production. Bey puts herself as the denominator between forms of upbeat music without sounding haughty or casually superior. The super-rich embellishments can be a little difficult to relate to, but unlike Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Great Gatsby’ defilement, ‘RENAISSANCE’ is generous enough with entertainment to justify its ornate, platinum heart.
24/30
A favourite: ‘Virgo’s Groove’
‘RENAISSANCE’ is out now via Columbia Records.
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